1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to test jacks and, more particularly, to a compact multiport test jack.
2. Description of the Related Art
In most cases, a telephone service provider is responsible for maintaining the wiring and providing service up to an interface device, such as a network interface device (NID) or an optical network terminal (ONT), which is typically attached to the outside of a customer premise. The customer is then responsible for maintaining the wiring from the interface device to the telephone jacks that are located throughout the customer premise, as well as the equipment that is connected to the telephone jacks.
Interface devices commonly include a test jack that provides a simple way to determine whether a service problem is the responsibility of the telephone service provider or the customer. A test jack is similar to a customer premise telephone jack. With a customer premise telephone jack, when a telephone plug, such as an RJ11 plug, is inserted into the jack, a telephone attached to the plug becomes electrically connected to the telephone network.
A test jack differs from a customer premise telephone jack in that when a telephone plug is inserted into the test jack, the customer premise wiring becomes electrically disconnected from the telephone network, and a telephone attached to the telephone plug becomes electrically connected to the telephone network. Thus, if a working telephone is plugged into the test jack and a dial tone is detected, any service problem lies within the customer premise. On the other hand, if no dial tone can be detected, then the service problem lies within the telephone network.
FIGS. 1A-1B show cross-sectional drawings that illustrate a prior art test jack 100. As shown in FIGS. 1A-1B, test jack 100 has a number of local wires 110 that can be electrically connected to the telephone jacks within the customer premise, and a number of network wires 112 that can be electrically connected to the telephone network. (Only one local wire 110 and one network wire 112 are shown in the figures.) Further, the network wires 112 are biased against the local wires 110 by way of the spring force that results from the shape, size, and material of the network wires 112.
In addition, test jack 100 has a cavity 116 that is designed to receive and hold a telephone plug 120, such as an RJ11 plug. Cavity 116, in turn, exposes the local wires 110 and the network wires 112. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1B, when telephone plug 120 is inserted into cavity 116 of test jack 100, plug 120 pushes the network wires 112 away from the local wires 110 to physically separate and electrically disconnect the ends of the network wires 112 from the ends of the local wires 110.
In addition, the insertion of telephone plug 120 into cavity 116 forces the ends of the network wires 112 into contact with conductive blades 122 in plug 120 (only one blade 122 is shown in the figures). The conductive blades 122, in turn, are connected to a telephone wire 124 which is connected to a working telephone. As a result, the insertion of telephone plug 120 into cavity 116 also places a working telephone into electrical contact with the telephone network.
One drawback of conventional test jacks is that each telephone line requires a separate test jack. As a result, in a multi-line setting, such as a multi-tenant commercial facility or a residence with multiple lines, a corresponding number of test jacks are required. A corresponding number of test jacks, however, requires a significant amount of space within the interface device. As a result, there is a need for a multiple line test jack that requires less space than a corresponding number of individual test jacks.